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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have an infectious smile, but boy has he made his players work since being appointed as United's interim manager.

On his first day back at Carrington, Solskjaer had a simple message for his squad: no matter the opposition, you should never be outworked. If you run more than your opponent, your talent will do the rest.

Solskjaer used a similar sermon at Molde and he has been encouraging his players to be braver with the ball and to not be afraid to lose possession - as long as they work hard to win it back.

The Norwegian is not one to get bogged down in statistics but he will have noted how, after 13 Premier League games, United were 18th in the table for sprints per game, 16th for distance covered per game and had not outrun or outsprinted any of their opponents.

That is a damning indictment of the final months of Jose Mourinho's reign and, tellingly, the players have been making more sprints and more high-intensity runs since Solskjaer took charge. They have also raced out of the blocks in the majority of his seven games in the dugout.

Solskjaer's school of thought is that United should blow teams away like they often did in his playing days by pressing high, moving the ball quickly and scoring first. Unsurprisingly, the players have bought into it.

United have scored 12 of their 19 goals in the first-half and six of those goals have come before the half-hour mark. Only once, against Newcastle, have Solskjaer's side gone into the break scoreless and they have yet to go behind over the course of 90 minutes.

Solskjaer admits his approach is 'going to take its toll towards the end of games' but believes that it will 'gradually make us a fitter team when you get to the Champions League and the Liverpool game'.

Although United had clear weeks ahead of games against Spurs and Brighton, the players looked tired towards the end of those wins and were hanging on a little.

As impressed as Solskjaer was by David de Gea's man of the match display at Wembley, he does not want to have to rely on the 28-year-old to bail his side out every week. Further improving his side's fitness is going to be crucial.